


Not Alone

by commandershakarian



Series: Mass Effect one shots [18]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: After Rannoch, F/M, Mass Effect 3, Post Rannoch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 17:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6816688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commandershakarian/pseuds/commandershakarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kael'Fennas, after waking up alone, searches the Normandy for his Commander. Worry and nightmares plague her and Kael takes it upon himself to calm her fears about the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magicianlogician12](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianlogician12/gifts).



> A commission I did for magicianlogician12 of her Veta Shepard and her Mass Effect OC, Kael’Fennas. I adore these two and it was an honor to be able to write for them again. <3

The silence aboard the Normandy unnerved him most nights, but it wasn’t the lack of noise that woke him this time. It was the feeling that he was alone. Kael’Fennas woke with a start, the sheets tangled around his legs and his body shivering. It wasn’t that the cabin was particularly cold. The Normandy’s ventilation system filtered air throughout the ship and the vent in the room he shared with Veta blew the air out above their bed. Hoping that he didn’t catch a cold, Kael wrapped the blanket around his shoulders before glancing at the empty place in bed. Veta had clearly been gone for some time. Any evidence that she had been sleeping was gone.

Once dressed in his environmental suit, Kael took the elevator to the third floor. Most nights when Veta had trouble sleeping, she would sit in the lounge and watch some old movies on her datapad. He never understood the appeal of the films, most she called ‘romantic comedies.’ How was romanced a comedy? Still to this day, it baffled him.

He didn’t find Veta in the lounge, however.

“Kael? What are you doing awake?” Liara T’Soni’s soft voice was met with confusion. The asari was sitting on the couch in the small room, her datapad in her hands, her bright blue eyes watching his every movement. She couldn’t see his face with his breather helmet on, but Liara had a keen sense of things. Some days, he even believe that she could read his thoughts.

His helmet buzzed as he opened his mouth, yet nothing came out. He wasn’t sure how to start.

Liara smiled at him, an attempt to exude calmness. The entire crew was privy to the secret that she was the Shadow Broker. She knew things that no one else knew. It was unnerving and she realized that even though she enjoyed every moment. “If you’re looking for Veta, she was in the war room last I looked.”

“Last you looked?” His hands came to his head as if to scratch his scalp, but he paused, his hand in midair. With a small laugh, he dropped it to his side again.

“Cameras, remember?” Liara lifted her datapad to accentuate her explanation.

Kael nodded, appreciative of her help, but still uncomfortable in her presence. “Thank you, Liara. I’ll leave you be.”

The asari said nothing as he left, the door sliding behind him with a hiss. He’d known Liara as long as he had Veta, but there was always something oddly off putting about the asari. Now that she was the most powerful information broker in the galaxy, that feeling had only increased.

The war room was as quiet as the rest of the ship and he could hear Veta’s distressed sigh from the doorway. For as long as he’d known her, nightmares had plagued her sleep. Mindoir, Horizon, floating in the nothingness of space… they terrified her and kept her awake most nights. Even with him beside her, they were in control.

Kael knew it was more than the nightmares this time. Earth was under attack. The Reapers were winning. Despite the warnings she’d given the council years before, no one had been prepared. Not even Veta.

His eyes spied her sitting in front of the monitor, checking the status of their war assets. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head, strands falling into her eyes as she stared at the reports, her nose scrunching in distress at what she saw.

“That bad?” He asked, feeling guilty when she jumped in alarm. Her blue eyes blinked owlishly at his presence. “Sorry.”

The moment passed and she smiled at him, lighting up the darkened room. She always did that. She made the galaxy seem brighter. He didn’t know where he’d be if he hadn’t met her all those years ago, back when he had stowed aboard the original Normandy. After all they’d been through, the Reapers almost seemed the logical end.

“Kael.” His name on her lips was sweet, sweeter than anything he’d ever heard before. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Sitting beside her, his eyes found the datapad on the counter beside her. The numbers displayed there were too high. He felt sadness settle upon him, a sadness he knew she felt too. It was different for him. She had saved his people, had gotten his homeworld back, and even made peace between the Geth and Quarians. She had managed to do all that and yet, she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to take Earth back.

Taking her hand, he held it between his own. “You need your rest, Veta.”

“Yes, I know,” she said, wearily. “I don’t want to fail. The weight on my shoulders-”

“You aren’t carrying it alone.” Kael assured her, knowing that no matter what words he spoke, she would still feel the pressure. He just needed to find a way to make that pressure less. “You’ve already accomplished  _ so much _ , Veta. The Genophage, the Geth and Quarian war. You’ve saved so many people-”

“And I’ve lost many.” 

The image of Mordin and Legion’s sacrifices played in his mind and he had to close his eyes for a moment, giving them the respect their actions deserved. When he opened them again, Veta was watching him with a smile on her face.

“What?” He asked, not sure what she found so amusing. It was always trouble when Veta smiled. Trouble for him, at least.

“You’re right, Kael.” She pulled her hands away and shut her datapad off. As the screen went dark, she seemed to relax. “For once, you’re right.”

She laughed, but Kael shook his head. “Very funny, Veta.”

Veta’s laughs echoed in the empty room and she reached for his hand. He gave it to her willingly. When she finally was able to speak, her eyes were shining with the happiness he was so used to seeing in her. “I’m being serious. Without you, without my crew, I wouldn’t have made it this far. Yes, people have been lost, but this is a war. With their sacrifices, we can save the galaxy from something worst: extinction.”

Kael stood, their hands still interlocked. “And for our illustrious leader to win this battle, she must get some sleep.”

Veta nodded, standing with him. “Lead the way.”


End file.
